Most telephone service subscribers use plain old telephone service (POTS) for placing ordinary voice calls. POTS is typically delivered over a subscriber loop between the subscriber's home or office and the local telephone company central office. The telephone company central offices provide a circuit switched network to establish connections between subscribers. A circuit switched connection provides relatively low and constant signal delay and guarantees full throughput for the duration of the call. Circuit switching, thus, provides a generally high quality of service connection for switched voice calls.
Data networks employ packet switched networks to move data in separate, small blocks (packets) based on the destination address in each packet. Circuit switching and packet switching differ in many respects. Circuit switching statically reserves the required bandwidth in advance, whereas packet switching acquires and releases it as it is needed. With circuit switching, any unused bandwidth on an allocated circuit is just wasted. With packet switching it may be utilized by other packets from unrelated sources going to unrelated destinations, since circuits are not dedicated.
A further difference between circuit and packet switching is the charging algorithm. Packet carriers usually base their charge on both the number of bytes (or packets) carried and the connect time. Transmission distance usually does not matter with packet switching. With circuit switching, the charge is based on the distance and time only, and not the traffic. Circuit switched networks and packet switched networks have traditionally occupied different spaces within offices. Circuit switched networks are typically used for phone calls and packet switched networks are typically used to handle data. However, due to the reach of phone lines and the efficiency and low cost of data networks, the two technologies may be beneficially used together.
Multi-line products are often required for small offices, home offices, or similar applications. However, the costs for equipment and service make it impractical for multiple phone line installations. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) packet switched service can be used to provide additional voice channels without requiring additional phone lines. There are situations, however, where VoIP may not be suitable since this technology typically suffers from quality of service issues.
There is, therefore, a need for a system and method that allows for dynamic allocation of packet switched and circuit switched resources based on a user's needs to provide multiple voice channels without requiring additional multi-line equipment.